


Kairos

by kokokoriii



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Akaashi is OOC, Also female, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fist Fight, Implied cheating/flirting, Kuroo and Bokuto had a thing, Kuroo is heartbroken, M/M, Short One Shot, Use of the f slur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:54:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26246722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kokokoriii/pseuds/kokokoriii
Summary: (n.) the perfect, delicate, crucial moment; the fleeting rightness of time and place that creates the opportune atmosphere for action, words, or movementKuroo gave Bokuto his heart and he crumpled it into a paper ball and set it on fire.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

"I hate her," Oikawa Tooru yelled to Kuroo Testurou over the deafening music of his house party, "All they do is smoke pot and listen to Juice World. I mean, things would be so much easier if Bokuto just slept with you instead." 

Kuroo nearly choked on his beer, "What are you talking about?"

Oikawa gave his best friend a look of annoyance, "Everyone knows that you and Bokuto had something but instead of choosing you, he got scared and ran to the nearest thing with boobs." 

Kuroo didn't say anything. He knew his relationship with Bokuto was complicated but it was supposed to be private. Part of him wanted to ask Oikawa what else he knew about them but refrained to save them both the embarrassment. He glanced over Oikawa's shoulder to see Bokuto Kotaro and Akaashi Keiji sitting on the back porch. Akaashi held a blunt to her mouth. 

"Hey," Kuroo shouted through the sound, "You know there's a party behind you, right?" 

This caught their attention and Akaashi handed Bokuto the blunt before standing up and walking inside, her arms crossed. Bokuto scurried behind her, "You're here?" Akaashi first asked, "Who invited you?"

"This is my house," Oikawa said flatly. 

Akaashi was the definition of perfect. She was tall and had curved that complimented her body. Akaashi's hair was silky and long, her smile was soft and her laugh was mesmerizing. To most people, she was the ideal girl but to Kuroo, she was horrifying. 

"Can we leave?" Akaashi turned to Bokuto, her arms still crossed. "I can't stand being here anymore."

The boys watched Bokuto wince at her statement, "But-"

"I know, Kotaro," She said sweetly, leaning in and whispering something Oikawa and Kuroo couldn't hear, "So, can we go?"

Bokuto nodded and Akaashi took his hand, "Thanks for having me, Oikawa. I'll see you guys around." 

Akaashi led Bokuto out of the house and Oikawa's mouth dropped. He knew Akaashi was narcissistic but he didn't realize how evil she really was. Kuroo shotgunned the can in his hand and reached for another, needing nothing more than to forget what just happened. 

To make up for what happened at the party, Bokuto takes Oikawa and Kuroo out for a karaoke night. They order enough food to feed ten people and sing songs Bokuto wasn't allowed to listen to anymore. There was no talk of Akaashi until Oikawa brought up Iwaizumi and sparked the conversation of relationships. Kuroo sat back in his head, his fist clenched on his knee, and prepared to block out anything Bokuto said. 

"She's the best thing that's ever happened to me." 

Oikawa glances at Kuroo, who wants to punch him across the face for reminding Bokuto that he even had a girlfriend, and mouths, "Sorry." 

Kuroo's stomach ties into a knot and he wants to crawl under a million sheets. He pretends to look at his phone because he doesn't want to see Bokuto's expression. He doesn't want to see the heart eyes Bokuto is having for someone else. Maybe Kuroo could jump out the window. 

He begins to distance himself from Bokuto. He doesn't want to answers his texts or play volleyball with him. The thought of Bokuto and Akaashi made Kuroo sick to his stomach. It used to be so simple. Back when they were sixteen, their relationship was exciting. The sneaking around gave them butterflies in their stomach and every kiss was a thrill. Where did it go wrong?

Anytime Kuroo thinks of Bokuto, his mind fills with memories and his chest fills with broken glass. Bokuto was slipping through Kurro's fingertips and Kuroo knew. He knew because he saw it coming. His heart ached for Bokuto and the bruises his fingers left after they made out on the couch for too long. He even missed Bokuto's stupid owl bedsheets. When it hurts Kuroo, that he would never have any of these things again, he feels like there's broken shards of glass in his chest. It's the most horrendous feeling in the world and he crumbles under the pain. 

It's so fucking easy to fall in love with someone. 

Kuroo doesn't see Bokuto again until their last training camp before graduation. 

He avoids him at all costs, of course, and won't even acknowledge him when they're only separated by a net. What was Kuroo supposed to do? He was two feet away from the person who stole his heart then set it on fire. 

They would always sit together at training camps, putting aside competition and coming together as friends. Kuroo couldn't get out of it this time, Oikawa insisting that it was tradition, and found himself glaring straight at Bokuto at the picnic table. There was an awkward tension in the air so the boys shoveled food into their mouths to avoid talking about it. 

Kuroo felt a foot tap his own under the table and he raised his head. Bokuto's eyes were wide, "Sorry." Kuroo imagined a world where him and Bokuto were fine and he wasn't dating that skank, a world where he would laugh and touch Bokuto's sneaker back and the two would play footsie until someone pointed it out. But that world didn't exist anymore, so Kuroo slammed his foot against Bokuto's toes and aggressively stood up from the table. He avoided him for the rest of dinner. 

"You're ignoring my text messages, phone calls and Snapchats and now you assault me?" 

Bokuto stood in front of Kuroo with his hands on his hips. Each team had gone to their respective rooms and Bokuto waited for Kuroo to head into the bathroom for a shower to corner him. 

"I didn't assault you," Kuroo muttered. 

"You kicked me." 

Something inside of Kuroo exploded then. How could Bokuto be so dense? How could Bokuto stand there and act like the victim? Kuroo was the one who was damaged and ready to put a gun to his head. Bokuto destroyed him, not the other way around. Kuroo felt fire in his veins and without much thought, he curled his hand into a fist and swung at Bokuto, "This is assault, you asshole!" 

Bokuto fell back into the open showers but steadied himself, "What's wrong with you?"

"Me? What's wrong with me?" Kuroo inched closer to Bokuto, getting in his face, "You. You're what's wrong with me." 

Bokuto scoffed, "It's not my fault you're a faggot that can't get over his first blowjob." 

Kuroo grabbed Bokuto by his shoulders and slammed him into the wall. Bokuto's head hit the concrete and he shoved Kuroo backwards, decking him against the right eye. Kuroo stumbled, his hand going to cover his eye, "Says the faggot who gave me it." 

They went at each other with full force, swinging, punching and hitting any part of the body their hands would reach. Kuroo gave Bokuto a bloody nose so Bokuto gave him a second black eye. They screamed at each other, throwing around insults made to hurt the other.

The teenagers fought until they both collapsed onto the floor in exhaustion. They were bloody and bruised and still heartbroken. 

"You're stronger than ever," Bokuto finally mumbled. 

"Thanks." 

"What are we doing?" Kuroo propped himself up on his elbows to peer at Bokuto,. He wasn't looking at Kuroo, rather the ceiling, and his nose was still gushing blood. Kuroo felt guilty for marring Bokuto's pretty face. "Did we really just beat the shit out of each other because of a girl?"

"We did."

They fight makes them friends again, somehow. It's not back to normal, Kuroo doesn't think it'll ever be how it used to, but at least they can have a conversation and play volleyball again. And Kuroo feels his heart start to mend again when Bokuto starts sending hearts after his texts and sleeping over again. 

Bokuto invites everyone out to dinner a month after graduation and Kuroo doesn't want to go because Akaashi would be there but Bokuto begs him and Oikawa makes him. 

Kuroo finds himself sandwiched between Bokuto and Oikawai but of course they have their partners on the other side, leaving Kuroo the odd man out. Their friends sit on the other side of the table but Kuroo can't concentrate in them. Kuroo's stomach is doing flips because Bokuto's elbow is resting on his thigh. 

"I have an announcement to make." All eyes turn to Bokuto and Akaashi has a smirk on her face. "Since we've graduated, it's time for us to move on with our lives. You might think we're too young for this but Akaashi and I are getting married." 

Kuroo can't breathe. 

He's actually the first to react. He lets out a loud gasp and the table turns to stare at him. Oikawa reaches for his friend's arm, "Is this some sick joke?" 

"Testu, not now."

Kuroo is up from his seat now and his voice is loud. His hands are shaking again and he throws his water glass down the table, splashing water on the innocent patrons of the dinner. Oikawa stands up too and tries to get Kuroo to sit down again but ends up getting pushed down. Iwaizumi becomes defensive but Oikawa swears not to do anything. Kuroo is so pissed, so fucking pissed, and refuses to believe any of this. He keeps making a scene, throwing his chair to the ground and pushing plates around. 

Then his anger turns into deafness. 

The world around Kuroo stops and silence overpowers his mind. He stares at Bokuto and watches as the stars above crash down around him. There's a rod of hot iron pressing against his throat and he's hyperventilating. 

Remember when Kuroo felt the worst pain of his life a few months ago? He takes it back. He was being torn limb from limb and his bones are breaking and he can't stop shaking. Akaashi is mortified and Bokuto is shocked and Kuroo just doesn't care. 

"Look at me," Bokuto says quietly, "Testurou." 

He can't look at him. But he does because it'll be the last time he sees his beloved Bokuto. 

"Stop crying."

Bokuto's face is blurry to Kuroo. The atmosphere feels like Hell to both of them and Bokuto holds Kuroo's face until he can breathe again. Kuroo's vision comes back and once Bokuto realizes the tears have stopped, he leans in close to Kuroo's face. 

Kuroo knows he should pull away. He knows he should get up and leave and let Bokuto marry Akaashi. 

Instead, he pulls Bokuto closer and kisses him.


	2. Redamancy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (n.) the act of loving the one who loves you; a love returned in full
> 
> Bokuto finally realized Kuroo was his soulmate.

After what happened in the restaurant, Akaashi dumped Bokuto. She threw the engagement ring (which was actually from Walmart) on the ground, tossed her glass of wine in his face and even keyed Bokuto's car before getting into an Uber and was never to be heard from again. 

Bokuto didn't care. 

When Kuroo kissed him, he realized that Akaashi was nothing more than a distraction and his true soulmate was right in front of him the entire time. They spent the remaining two months of summer squeezing in months of missed opportunities. Bokuto took Kuroo on a weekend getaway and Kuroo bought Bokuto belated birthday gifts. Everything was going smoothly until September crept upon the new-couple and they remembered they were attending different universities. 

They had been so wrapped up in their relationship that they forget to prepare for the distance. 

The night before Bokuto left for Nagoya University, he couldn't sleep. The next morning would consist of Bokuto and his younger siblings packing up the family car and driving four hours to his school. He knew he should be resting up for his busy day tomorrow, but he couldn't stop tossing and turning about the thought of being away from Kuroo. 

This would be the first time he and Kuroo had been seriously apart from each other. Their high schools were practically blocks away and they could walk to each other's house whenever they wanted. But Kuroo was attending Nagasaki University, which was so far he had to take a plane. Bokuto thinks that if they had been on better terms when it was time to choose universities, they would have talked about staying closer. 

Bokuto was excited to go to college, of course, but he wasn't ready for dateless Fridays and Skype calls. 

Across town, Kuroo silently slipped out of his house. His own mind was filled with anxiety about Bokuto leaving and he thought a walk through the nostalgic neighborhood would help him clear his mind. He walked for twenty minutes until he recognized the street signs and texted Bokuto. 

"Tetsu!" A voice called from across the road a few minutes later. Bokuto washed his hair that night, Kuroo noticed, so his usual spikes hung low and framed his soft face. He jogged across the abandoned street and him and Kuroo found a bus bench to sit on. "Couldn't sleep?" 

"I can't believe we're leaving each other just when we finally got each other back." 

Bokuto found Kuroo's hand and squeezed it, "It'll be okay." 

Kuroo chewed on his bottom lip, "We're going to be a plane ride away." 

"Listen to me," Bokuto turned his head to look Kuroo in the eyes, his forehead grazing his boyfriend's, "We've been through too much shit this year to let something like distance keep us apart."

Kuroo chuckled sadly. Bokuto had a point. This year was filled with lies, fights and heartbreak. If they could get through a falsified engagement, then they could get through anything. As they sat on the cold bench in the middle of the night, Kuroo kissed Bokuto like it was their last and Bokuto swore he felt his heart throb painfully. 

He drove with Bokuto the next morning, his own car filled with memories, while Bokuto's family drove behind them with the rest of his things. For a teenage boy, Bokuto sure had a lot of stuffed animals and toys (action figures, he would say). 

"You have such a nice room," Bokuto's mom said as she pulled a fitted sheet over the mattress. 

There was nothing special about the dorm room. It was actually quite cramped for two people and the view out the window was another brick building. "Yeah," Bokuto said, "It's great." 

They helped Bokuto unpack large items and then decided to give Kuroo and Bokuto some alone time to say goodbye. Kuroo shuffled around one of Bokuto's bags before pulling out a small box. It was poorly wrapped and slightly crushed but he handed it to Bokuto to open anyways. 

"It's from our holiday to the beach." 

Bokuto grinned and immediately placed the picture frame on his bedside table so he could wake up to his boyfriend's smiling face every morning. 

Kuroo cried on the drive home. He had held it in so Bokuto didn't get caught up comforting him when he needed to be unpacking but as soon as he closed the door, he broke down. He already missed Bokuto and couldn't think of a single reason why he should go to Nagaski anymore when his soulmate was here. 

It was great at first. Kuroo left for university a week after Bokuto and in the beginning, everything was fine. 

They would Skype almost every night and nights when they couldn't talk, they texted each other. They sent each other photos and videos and daily updates on classes and campus life. It only took a month for things to start slowing down. One night, Kuroo texted Bokuto their usual goodnight message and waited for a response. After ten minutes, he put his phone down and went to bed - Bokuto was probably busy or already asleep. But when he woke up in the morning, there was no goodnight text and no apology for missing it. 

He told himself to stop being paranoid and went to meet with new friends for lunch. 

They got around to calling a few days after that. "This is getting hard," Kuroo admitted, rolling onto his bed and pressing his phone to his ear. 

"What do you mean?" Bokuto asked. 

"I mean," Kuroo groaned, "We don't text as much anymore and it's almost impossible to set up a FaceTime." 

Bokuto apologized for becoming so busy with class and sports and while his reasons were completely valid, Kuroo struggled to accept them. It wasn't that he thought Bokuto was doing anything but Bokuto could be an airhead sometimes and couldn't understand that girls at parties aren't just being friendly. 

When Bokuto posted a photo of him and a girl on Halloween, Kuroo decided he couldn't take the distance anymore. He knew deep down that Bokuto posted that picture because his muscles looked good and maybe he considered the girl a friend but he also knew that when anyone saw that photo, they would think they were dating. This was the breaking point for Kuroo - the point that made him call up his own mom sobbing that he wanted to come home. 

Kuroo hated university. He didn't have many friends, other than his roommates and project partners, and felt himself becoming isolated. 

On a Friday night when Kuroo had wrapped himself up in a blanket, listening to sad music and working on law assignments, his phone rang. It was Bokuto and as much as Kuroo wanted to pick up and chat his heart away, he also wanted to be left alone. Never the less, Kuroo knew hearing Bokuto's voice would cheer himself up so he answered the call. 

"Hey, what's up?" Kuroo asked. 

"What's wrong?" Bokuto asked instantly. Of course, Kuroo grimaced, even his voice sounded depressed. 

Without thinking, Kuroo broke down. He cried about how little fun he was having in university and how angry Bokuto's Halloween post made him (because it should have been them, he realized later) and how awful it was that he couldn't hold Bokuto in his arms anymore. He filled the grainy emptiness with heartache and Bokuto felt tears well in his own eyes knowing there was nothing he could do to console his love. 

"I'm dropping out after winter break." 

"What?"

"I can't fucking do this! I can't be away from you for four years like this, Kou. My roommate's uncle owns a construction business near Nagasaki and I can find an apartment and you can come live with me and-"

"You're not dropping out of college!" Bokuto interrupted, "You want to become a lawyer." 

"I'll give that up if it means I can be with you again."

Bokuto chuckled and shook his head, "Just transfer to Nagasaki." There was a moment of silence that consisted of Kuroo punching himself in the head a few times for being so stupid (and he called Bokuto an airhead?). "I'll help you apply right now." 

"You're okay with that?" 

"I wish we did it from the beginning," Bokuto revealed, "We could have been roommates and pushed our beds together to make a double bed." 

Kuroo roughed out the rest of the semester and came winter break, he was back home in Tokyo with all of his belongings. His parents were frustrated at first when Kuroo told them he was transferring already but soon realized if it meant he was going to start acting like himself again, they would support him. Kuroo was a tearful mess when Bokuto surprised him at his house, holding the acceptance letter in his hand. 

They live in a dorm together for the next year and a half before getting an apartment together where they can host Oikawa on long weekends. They get to spend holidays together and Kuroo learns how to cook so he can have hot meals ready for Bokuto when he comes home from volleyball practice. Bokuto works on his romantic gestures but things usually end up on fire so he resorts to chocolate or sex instead. 

On their third anniversary, they spend it eating popcorn and watching a movie. They're able to laugh about the past and Bokuto brags about being engaged twice, which confuses Kuroo until he pulls out a ring (not from Walmart this time) and proposes to Kuroo on the couch. 

His hands flew up to his mouth to cover his overbearing smile as tears sprung to his eyes. 

"I've never fallen to anyone so hard before," Bokuto whispers, "I don't want to spend my life with anyone but you. Will you marry me?"

"God, yes." 

It was an immediate answer, something Kuroo had been waiting for since he was sixteen. Bokuto slid the ring onto Kuroo's finger and breathed out a sigh of relief when it fit. Kuroo leaned forward, his thumb and forefinger angling Bokuto's face to meet his. Bokuto finishes his action by pressing their lips together, molding their mouths sweetly. When they parted, they both realized there were no words left to be told. 

All that was left was the future ahead as they smothered each other in true love.


End file.
